Hello everyone, it's Sammi. This year has been a whirlwind of events and now we are ready to let everyone know what has been happening with my sister Shelley. 


It all started in December.... Shelley started having some female issues that just wouldn't resolve. Multiple doctors and many antibiotics didn't help. Months went by until everything changed one Friday night. Severe pelvic pain and vomiting sent her to the Urgent Care in Apple Valley. Naomi Roers, the PA for Shelley that day, made the decision to perform a CT scan since nothing had been helping. That's when Shelley's life changed. A mass was found in her uterus that was growing into her cervix as well. At this point we weren't sure what the mass was, so a biopsy was scheduled for the following week. Shelley and I had days to go through every possible outcome, the good, the bad and the ugly. We knew that whatever the outcome, we were going to fight it with everything we had. The biopsy was performed and the wait for the results was brutal. The results came on April 1st and it was no joke. It was cancer. The doctor explained that they weren't sure what kind of cancer it was because they don't know where the mass originated from. Unfortunately, the mass was also too large at this stage to perform surgery. The next step for Shelley would be chemotherapy. The doctor explained that Shelley's cancer was an aggressive form and that chemo needed to be started as soon as possible to try and get ahead of it. A PET scan and MRI were scheduled the morning of the MN Twins home opener. Shelley was a trooper though, and still made it to the game, like a true fan. The next day brought her catheter placement under heavy sedation. That went off without a hitch. The weekend passed with preparation for Shelley's first day of chemo on April 14th.  The first couple of days after went smoothly but then the exhaustion hit. Doing anything took away what little energy she had left. Thank god for family and friends that helped with chores around the house, and meals that were easy for me, a girl who doesn't cook, to make. Shelley got better with each passing day, until the day, in the shower, that her hair started to fall out. She made the decision to shave her head that night and take control of the situation instead of letting it control her. Let me tell you, she is rocking the shaved head look. We still have two rounds of chemo left, the next one being on May 5th. No Cinco De Mayo celebrating for Shelley so I guess I will have to do it for her! Oh darn lol. After that, Shelley will have another PET scan to see if the mass has decreased in size enough for surgery. If it hasn't, another three rounds of chemo will be done. We are hopeful that since we caught this early, three rounds will shrink it enough for surgery. Prayers are needed! 

As all of you know, Shelley is not one to ask for help. She has always been the one to provide for herself and not ask for anything from anyone. But this situation is different. I have seen the stress on her face as each medical bill comes through the mail. We already have a pretty good bill going but we haven't seen anything come through for the chemo yet. That is what worries her the most. This is why I am making this go fund me, to try and help ease some of her stress so she can focus on getting better and beating this cancer. I know that the goal of this go fund me seems excessive but we have no clue what total we will be looking at when all of this is said and done. Anything will help at this point. 

This is all for Shelley, my big sister, my roommate and an amazing friend.